Canada announces junior team camp roster

Center Nolan Patrick, the possible No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, was one of 32 players chosen by Hockey Canada on Tuesday to take part in Canada's National Junior Team selection camp next month that will help determine its 22-player roster for the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Patrick (6-foot-3, 198 pounds), an A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting's players to watch list, has missed the past 18 games for Brandon of the Western Hockey League because of an upper-body injury.

Canada's selection camp will be held Dec. 11-14 at the Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau in Blainville, Quebec. It will feature three games, including two matches against a team of U Sports (formerly CIS) all-stars on Dec. 12 and 13, and a final match against the Czech Republic on Dec. 14.

Patrick, 18, who has four goals and nine points in six games this season, told NHL.com on Nov. 16 he hopes to be ready for camp.

"That camp is still an option for me; I think I'll be ready to go before that and obviously that was one of my goals coming into the season," Patrick said. "I think if I get back in time, they'll hopefully give me a shot at it."

Ryan Jankowski, Hockey Canada director of player personnel, said Patrick is day to day, but must play in the exhibition games if he hopes to make the team.

"For what we're trying to accomplish this year and with everything being earned, [Patrick] will have to participate in the games on Dec. 12-13-14 [in order to make the final roster].

"However, we're not going to know until really probably the 11th hour. We've talked to Nolan and he feels good, yet, he can't even say if he's going to be ready. So we've named him with the expectation that, hopefully, he'll be ready and if he is, he'll come to camp."

The 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship will run Dec. 26, 2016 through Jan. 5, 2017, in Montreal and Toronto.

Canada will be in Group B along with Latvia, Russia, Slovakia and the United States, and play its preliminary round games at Air Canada Centre on Toronto. Defending champion Finland is in Group A, along with Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, and will play its preliminary-round games at Bell Centre in Montreal.